Society members, currently numbering nearly 700, bring a variety of expertise from such fields as oncology, pathology, radiology, nuclear medicine, endocrinology, surgery and gastroenterology, to ENETS.
ENETS' founding members
The founding members are (l. to r.): Hakan Ahlman, Göteborg, Sweden; Bertram Wiedenmann, Berlin, Germany; Ola Nilsson, Göteborg; Barbro Eriksson, Uppsala, Sweden; Kjell Öberg, Uppsala; Ursula Plöckinger, Berlin; Philippe Ruszniewski, Clichy, France; Guido Rindi, Parma, Italy; Martyn Caplin, London.
Founding members not pictured: Rudolf Arnold of Marburg, Germany, Wouter de Herder of Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Gianfranco Delle Fave of Rome.
These founding members sought to unify neuroendocrine tumor disease research among European medical professionals. The primary aim was to integrate basic and clinical research with teaching and to establish guidelines for the diagnosis and therapy of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP NETs). In 2004 and 2005, the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuroendocrine Gastrointestinal Tumours" were developed and, in April 2005, was published in the journal [k]Neuroendocrinology[/k]. Revised Guidelines followed in 2006 and 2007, along with TNM classifications.
ENETS has gradually attracted members from throughout Europe, and has expanded into the new EU member states, Russia, Australia, South America, Canada, China, India, and the U.S. At the same time, the Society has formed valuable relationships within the pharmaceutical industry, namely with Novartis Pharma AG in Basel, Switzerland, and IPSEN Biotech in Paris.
ENETS cooperates as well with the German Neuroendocrine Tumor Network (NET-WORKs), UKI-NETs, and similar organizations in most member countries. Furthermore, ENETS has launched a number of international and multi-centered clinical trials.